Numerous industries incorporate thin and often fragile objects that need to be handled, stored and/or transported. The most common example is perhaps the semiconductor industry that employs a wide range of components and subcomponents such as die, substrates, chips, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, microprocessors and wafers. Other industries that also have a need to handle, store and/or transport thin, fragile objects include the medical device industry (e.g., diamond scalpel, coils, and optics) telecommunications, optoelectronic and automotive.
Devices have been developed for these purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,667,944, 4,711,014, and 4,778,326 describe devices for handling objects such as semiconductor chips, wafers, and the like where the device includes a sheet member to which the object adheres, the sheet being deformable using a vacuum so that the sheet member is made non-planar when it is draw away from the object by the vacuum, thereby reducing the adhesion force between the object and the sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,281 describes an electronic component carrier having a series of electronic component-mounting portions that include a layer of adhesive. The adhesive is a rubber type, an acrylic type or a silicone type having suitable pressure sensitive adhesive properties. The use of a push bar enables smooth removal of the electronic component from the adhesive layer.
Further examples of devices that have been developed for these purposes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,760,916, 4,966,282, 5,089,314, 5,648,136 5,729,963, 5,769,237, and 5,833,073.
Despite these different devices, a need continues to exist for more effective devices for use in handling, storing and/or transporting small and fragile objects.